Reflections of the Soul
by Vegeta sama
Summary: This is not your typical B/V. maybe even a bit strange. let me know
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Bulma:

I have always wondered what a soul is. What it is made of. If it lasts forever, as some say. What happens, when one releases his last breath, and the heart stops? Does the soul live on, in the air of the earth around us? Is this the one vital thing that sets man apart from beast?

My father died long ago. I took up his general branch of work: science. But I always did have a wonder for the supernatural. I am not religious, and never have been. But it just seems that no matter what I do, my mind always wanders back to the subject of soul matter. I suppose all the fiction reading I have done has only fed my curiosity, inflamed it, in fact.

So here I am, picking apart this corpse in the middle of the night (or is it day, I cannot tell) on my old clunky spacecraft…oops, dropped the damn glove again…The brain in this specimen shows no sign of conscious matter, not even any spiritual lingering of it. I watched a Latchuian monk once, praying over a corpse, chanting and humming, proclaiming to the congregation that he had picked up the last words the dead man had ever wanted to say. I never had the chance to talk to that monk. Perhaps he could have helped me with this spiritual feeling stuff. I try to grasp any oddities in the air with my heart, anything that tingles my spine or baffles my nose, something that could be a piece of the deceased's soul. But of course it's not working.

My scalpel shines dully under the dim lab lights. My back is aching terribly under this cramped position I have been in for hours. I flex my hand as it begins to tremble again. I suppose my body is exhausted from lab work. I cannot readily tell, though. My mother always told me that I was detached from pain and all other parts of human bodily reaction and feeling. That is, except when I'm with a boyfriend. Ah, how can I still think about these worthless trivialities? I have put it all behind me. I will search no more for men, call no more on friends, forget Yamucha, and forget the greatest betrayal of my life. I will not lift these memories from the murkiest depths of my brain until I complete my research. And with the progress I'm making currently, I may never finish.

Aimio beeps at me. I roll my eyes.

"You are hungry. Would you like me to prepare you some food" she asks in a singsong tone.

"No, I don't want anything. Cut the voice" I order. I really should get around to removing that annoying voice chip. But I have no time for robots anymore.

"Your stomach is growling" Aimio persists. Her wheels roll quickly, a sign of artificial excitement.

"Go away" I turn away from her, back to my work.

"You don't have to be a bitch to me" she mutters. My hand pauses an inch above the frozen vein I am examining. I slowly turn my head to her again, and narrow my eyes. I peer down my nose at the miniature doll.

It had just called me a bitch.

I had never programmed a swear vocabulary into any of my machines. A chill quickly passes through me, but I keep my composure, and I stoop down to the thing. It stays still as I look straight into its eyes.

How far has artificial intelligence gone? I am an illegal pioneer in this field of science, and although I am definitely bold, I do not yet dare to create something that will challenge me. Aimio will have to go.

"This won't hurt a bit" I whisper as I open a chest panel and pull the plug. Now it cannot answer. Its red eyes dim and no longer focus on me. I pick it by the arm and toss it lightly into the pile of organic refuse next to the dead body.

They have no legacies to leave behind, these robots. No souls to linger in the minds of others. Certainly not inside mine. Some people I have worked with in the past have resigned from their jobs merely because they find my behavior unsettling. I do not understand what makes them so queasy about shutting off a robot. It has no life anyway. Some people compare it to killing a person. What nonsense.

I work for another hour. The detector begins to light up. Has it found something? I fumble for it, trip, and fall against the table.

Splat.

_Disgusting_. I look down at my pants.

Oh! Forget those stains, I realize with dread; I've ruined the specimen! Damn! I should have been more careful!

I frantically begin trying to clean up the mess I have made. Two fingers roll off the table. I absently step on them. I grit my teeth at my own clumsiness. I worked so hard to get this corpse, now I've squished part of it and stepped on two other parts. I carefully pick up the two small limbs, and I find they are fully intact, and undamaged. When I peer more closely at the body, I realize that it has not been damaged either, but merely smeared with fluid. Silly me.

How could I have forgotten? Saiyajins are certainly sturdily built, a species based on battle and aggression, warfare…I'm afraid I don't know much else about them. It seems most of their brainpower was concentrated in reflex and instinct. Not too many Saiyajin scientists, I suppose.

What a beautiful body. Chest muscles clearly defined, arms thick with power, legs built for sprinting or running any distance, face so mysterious. The mouth drawn into a scowl, cheekbones set rigidly, sharp and angular, forehead high, nose with a superior poise, hair unfettered and wild…how perfect. Are all Saiyajins like this?

And suddenly I feel sick.

I put down the knife in my hand. The knife I used to cut up this carcass and analyze mutilated organs with. My gloves, caked with dry blood and bodily fluid. My clothes, smeared with grime and blood. I look at the dead Saiyajin again. Slain in battle. The pinprick-sized holes on either side of the head were enough to destroy the life of this warrior, as well as most of the brain I have to work with. He was killed by another of his kind.

I had been on that battlefield, hidden in an underground capsule machine. Watching, recording the incredible events I had witnessed, from a safe place. What a typical human I was, cowardly but curious. Only daring to crawl out from my hiding spot once the danger had left. To scavenge the remains, a prize that was not mine. The man had put up a valiant battle, but was hopelessly weak compared to his opponent, his killer.

I remember the shock on his face as he went down for the last time, blood pouring out from either side of his head. And I remember just as clearly the callously calm victor as he strode away to his ship.

_**Prince of the Saiyajins.**_

The words flash in my mind, utterly foreign.

Prince? Where did that come from? Words that just materialized in my brain? A prince was the murderer of my specimen?

My eyes fall to the opened brains of the Saiyajin before me. I question this: does his soul really still linger here as I view his dead body? Has he just "talked" to me, informed me that his killer was a prince? Or am I too tired, am I imagining things? I should go to sleep.

There is a bleep on my detector. Its miniature screen proliferates with data, graphs surging upward, numbers and commands racing across it, and I grab it in an excited frenzy, fumbling with code buttons, ready to decipher the signals! Something has been found, a sign of sentience after death! My great triumph, at last!

"Come on, come on, yes" I forget about the "Prince of Saiyajins" temporarily.

Then the screen goes blank. Totally blank.

My fingers freeze for a split-second as my mind registers in surprise. What is this? No, no, what just happened! All the data in that gargantuan influx, gone? I try every recovery code, punching in at least ten combinations of everything I remember from tech class. Nothing. It is all gone, wiped out after such a short moment of bliss. Perhaps an overload occurred. Damn.

My index finger brushes one key purely by accident. And one word appears on the screen.

**Bardock**.

I don't think I have to say this but I will

People review and tell me what you think about it

Peace


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Vegeta:

He still sleeps in the back bunker. Good, the less noise, the better. The only sounds I hear right now are the beating of my heart and the monotonous drone of the ship's engines, humming and vibrating beneath me through the metal floor. I see nothing. Meditation proves to be calming, especially after a week of battles.

I have picked up this meditation form from a Namek I fought and killed several months ago. Useless race, the Nameks, too spiritual and simple. Ripped both his arms off, tossed him in the river; I hope the fish got him. The Namek deserves no more, the uncompromising son of a bitch. But he sure did know how to keep his mouth shut, same with all the Nameks, especially when it comes to guarding their own treasure. I still have not found one of the legendary seven.

Perhaps once I find them, I will be able to achieve my life's purpose. I am worthlessly lost at the moment, just keeping my spirit on a rushing high of slaughter and battle time. Nothing suits me better than that, but sooner or later I will have to change direction. There must be grander things to see, loftier heights to which I can ascend. When I find my goal, nothing will stop me from attaining it.

The so-called prophet told me I would die a most bizarre death, one dishonorable and unworthy of a warrior. Furthermore, he said it would be caused by factors inside of me that I am unaware of and that I cannot control. Heaps of shit, he was out of his mind. Good thing I dispatched him quickly. Maybe Kakarotto inherited his father's stupidity. He muses nonsense at times, in the middle of a spar, between mouthfuls of food, and even when snoring asleep. He tells me about the scar on his head, perhaps another cause of his retardation, and he fabricates tales of old men in dark laboratories operating on him. Incoherent idiot.

Ah well, as long as I have a decent sparring partner, I will keep him alive. He would never even dream of trying to kill me. His heart is too soft for that.

But I will not tell him that I have just killed his father. There is something deeply disconcerting about that man-child. I cannot quite put my finger on it yet. It is the spark in his eyes that shines only during times of battle, his natural ease at killing that belies his idiocy. I am confident of my own power. But I am careful when dealing with Kakarotto.

I have lost contact with my people. I am a Prince with an empty title. Perhaps that is why I desire to kill so much. Although I may never cross paths with another of my kind again, I still am the most powerful warrior the universe has ever seen. There is none like me.

Perhaps that is why I am empty. Kakarotto would call it loneliness. Bah. A sentiment of weakness. I am solitary, as all Saiyajins are, with the exception of my demented companion. I am at the top alone, looking down on everything and everyone else, and I have no competitors. I should be proud. I have secured my spot as Prince, and rightful King, and if I wished, I would conquer the galaxy and rule as supreme Emperor. No one would question me. No one could.

But I don't do it. It is not in my heart to do it. I seek something more…something I cannot quite grasp yet. That is why I must find the Nameks' treasure. I will continue searching forever until I get my hands on them, even if it means digging them up from the core of every planet I visit.

**Crash.**

I open my eyes in a snap. Kakarotto has awoken. Probably broke something. Just count on him to disrupt the little time of peace I have.

A minute later I hear him in the hallway outside. He knocks on the door and a dent appears.

"Oops," he begins. I am silent, waiting patiently. "Vegeta! I'm hungry!"

"There is food in the storage freezers. Unless you ate it all already," I reply coldly.

"Um…I did…sorry," his voice is sheepish.

Damn him and his innocence. I cannot bring myself to be angry with him.

I am, however, annoyed.

"I guess we'll have to make a landing for fresh kill." I rise to my feet and walk to the door, ignoring Kakarotto as he opens it for me.

At the controls, navigation tells me the closest planet is Minaro. It is teeming with vegetation and lower life forms, but appears to have nothing in terms of intelligent beings. We will land, hunt, and be on our way.

Bulma:

BOOM!

Another explosion rocks the ship. A repair robot zooms past me and latches onto the ceiling hole, newly formed by a meteorite. Debris is everywhere. Sparks fly from snapped wires, metal chunks the size of pineapples falling all around me. And the only thing I care about is Bardock.

My lab is a mess, with garbage rolling everywhere, containers broken across the floor, and more debris raining from the ceiling. My ears are deafened by the continuous explosions. They won't stop. Just my luck to be caught in a meteor storm! My hands work quickly to bind down the body. I grab more security rope and lash it around the corpse's arms and legs, then seal it over into the preservation encasing. Blue liquid fills the case, and I hope I will live to work on this magnificent body another day.

With priorities done, I rush into the controls room and fine it half-demolished. Damn, I knew I should've repaired the shields when I had the chance! Evacuation pods are intact, but there is no way I am leaving without all my experiments.

Call me crazy.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The collisions knock me off my feet and into a panel of glass. It shatters, jagged shards digging deep into my back.

"AHHHHH!" I scream in anguish. My resolve hardens as I grit my teeth and push myself up on gashed hands. I must reach controls, but most importantly keep control of the oncoming panic, rising like a steaming pot in my head. Blood gathers in rolling puddles on the floor where I step. No, I will not give up! I—have—to—

One hand gets a hold of a lever on the panel. I force my eyes to see straight through the overpowering nausea I keep fighting down. Backup shields, switch on! They can hold out long enough for me to right the ship. Emergency engines kick in to steady the ship, and the sudden jolt almost knocks me over again. My fingers fly frantically across the panel, my mind working desperately to set a survival course for this ship.

I look up to the viewing window. I am headed straight for a planet, and it is already too late to pull out. The meteor storm is passing, the concentration of impacts lessening, but this new obstacle is much more devastating. I am not prepared for landing, or even entrance to the atmosphere.

Gravity has a steady grip on the craft already, and the best I can do is to tilt the course so I don't make a nosedive into the pole. With several codes punched in, I stumble back through the debris-covered room and head straight for the lab. My treasure. A great sigh escapes me, and I hardly realize that I have fallen onto the encasing that contains him. My blood pools over the glass as I stare down at his perfect face. Well, perfect below the forehead. I wish I had had time to take care of the delicate brain…pieces of it are drifting…

All your fault, Bardock. For trapping me in you. Giving me the lead. I took the bait, and was so ignorant that I let my ship run into-

The ship begins shaking violently as it reaches the atmosphere. My chattering teeth bite through my tongue. I can barely even feel the pain now. Somewhere in the back of my fading consciousness, I know that I will die.

"Bardock," I whisper as the turbulence tears my body away from the bloodied glass. I sprawl against the wall and close my eyes like a tired child. My head aches and my mind is shutting down from the weariness.

_Save my soul._

Bulma:

Blackness engulfs my vision. I hear nothing. I feel nothing. Am I awake, or is this a dream? A nightmare? Or am I dead?

I cannot even tell if my eyes are open. It is the blackest of black swallowing me whole. I feel like I am floating, I can touch nothing. Or maybe I just don't feel anything. I don't know anymore. I don't even know if I can move. If I'm not moving, then I'm not touching anything. So maybe if I move, I'll feel something. Confusing. Am I dead?

Light.

Dark.

Haze.

Pain.

The pain is numbed. As if I am disconnected wholly from it. My body is detached from my mind, a loose thread hanging between them.

I survived? Why am I in darkness? I try to move, finally. Then I awaken from semi-awareness, the type of trance that one lies in when he has just woken from a dream. I am sitting up in the dark, my hands groping about for anything tangible to hold. The bed sheets rumple from my movements.

"Hello…" My mouth feels dry, as if my dentist just sucked all the saliva out of it with that little pipe.

Click. A single light directly over my head illuminates the room in a second. I jerk in surprise, and shield my poorly adjust eyes with my hand.

"Hello, Bulma Briefs."

The voice is low, soft, solid, acute. Somebody knows my name.

"Who are you?" My eyesight is starting to clear up, and I make the outline of a man sitting in the far corner of this empty room. My bed, oddly, is in the center of it. I feel like I am in an interrogation chamber, about to be whipped.

"My name is Gero," he states simply. Long white hair like sheets of spiderwebs over his shoulders give him a primal appearance. His sharp blue eyes meet mine and lock into my gaze.

He sees my loss for words. "You made a rather unclean touchdown on this soil. Your ship was destroyed."

He pauses for a second and smiles. The shadows make him look scary.

"But, my dear, you lived. A strong build of a body, you have, though it seems delicate."

Blush fills my cheeks. Normally, old men with Barbie doll hair do not compliment me on my body. It is unsettling. I hope he does not see my embarrassment, but with this light shining right over me, he can see everything.

"All the stuff on my ship is gone?" I venture.

"Yes," he replies. I can hardly see his mouth move under that thick white mustache. "All gone."

My heart falls. My life's work. Wiped out. And that beautiful Saiyajin…

"You lost a large amount of blood. Shrapnel was lodged in several places across your back. The palms of your hands were slashed. You suffered a concussion. Your hip bone was shattered, along with several others."

Gero pauses again. I ask, "How did I survive? If you did some…"

"Do not worry about all that, dear. You are in fine condition once again."

Why does this man keep looking at me with that stare? When he speaks I feel as if he knows me inside out and still desires to know more. He wants something from me. And he seems only to care about my body.

"Are you a doctor?" I push myself off the side of the bed. I still feel numbed pain in some areas of my body, but otherwise I am perfectly fine.

"Yes, I am a doctor," he answers briefly. "And you are a brilliant scientist of sorts, Miss Briefs."

I laugh uneasily, but feel alarm tingling at the back of my brain. There is something wrong with this man.

"The data files of your ship's computer were left intact. It seemed necessary to know your blood type and other vital health information…and I found your name and title on the side," he explains.

Yes. On the side.

"Oh. So…where am I anyway?" I ask. Intuition keeps me on guard.

"Xethyros. A sparsely inhabited planet. Resourceful, though."

I begin to weigh in my situation. My ship: destroyed. I will need a new one. Myself: perfect health. Perhaps about to be detained for quite a while by this doctor. My experiments: gone. Communications: perhaps available.

Bardock: gone. My spirit is immediately crushed. There is so much more I could have discovered from him!

But wait. How much can I trust this doctor Gero?

"May I at least see the remnants of my ship? Wherever it crashed…"

"Certainly. But I believe you should I have something to eat and rest up. Then I will show you whatever you want," he says.

"Thank you." I think.

"There are many things a scientist like yourself would find interesting here. We'll have a lot to learn from one another." He smiles.

I smile back. I still do not have a good feeling about all this. The sooner I get off this planet, the better. My immediate gratitude for this man's help has been replaced by a standoffish wariness.

I feel like hunted prey. Or at least scavenged prey.

Vegeta:

The key to hunting efficiently is to kill efficiently. The prey here is weak but fast. The last time I saw big animals move this quickly was when I met Nappa. Large ki blasts are unnecessary to kill. Ki is unnecessary altogether.

A boar, ten feet in length. Sizeable, lots of meat. My senses are trained to their highest level. I can hear its labored breathing as it runs pell-mell through this thick forest. With every footfall the ground underneath shakes. A tree splinters and cracks as the animal hits it dumbly, blind in its rush. Birds scatter to the skies, squawking. All the brush is trampled in the brute's path.

Why do I bother with this waste of time? I still wait here in this tree as my prey runs away. I sigh. I am bored. _So _bored.

My movement is effortless. In a split-second I slice across its path and watch it skid in muddy ground as it tries to reverse direction and escape me. It lets loose a wild squeal of a trapped animal. It knows it will lose. In another split-second it is dead. I raise my hand from its broken neck. A giant boar like this should keep Kakarotto and me satiated. I wonder if the fool has been hunting well during all this time.

The gargantuan carcass slung over my back, I return to the ship and slice it up outside. It cannot fit through the door otherwise. Meanwhile, I feel for Kakarotto's ki. It flares up, then down, then dips and rests. What an idiot, toying with his food again. Well, that leaves me with time alone. I proceed to cut up the boar and incinerate unwanted portions. I store it all inside the ship, in a freezer.

Where will I go now? I am in dire need of a challenge. Everything bores me, and I am losing patience quickly. Where is my imminent death? I have not forgotten Bardock's final sermon, moving, albeit short, before he had fallen.

_You will die of the uncontrollable weakness inside of you, cursed prince._

_You will die with shame and shattered pride._

_You will be defeated, and you won't even know what hit you.._

It had seemed that the only thing keeping the bastard alive had been the determination to finish those words.

"Dead men spew their own shit," I had said disdainfully.

His smile had been crooked. "And so will you. Soon."

My boredom eats at me so gratingly that I am beginning to consider this crazy seer's prediction. Death I do not fear. What is it that vexes me, then? Fear of weakness? I am the strongest warrior alive. No one can touch me. I have no weaknesses. I care for no one and nothing. The desire for battle drives me on, the desire for perfection burns as the power of my soul.

It must be something else, or someone else, that may cause my death. An outside force that weighs me down.

Kakarotto, I realize. He must be the liability.

He would aid me in a hopeless battle. He would unquestionably follow my command. He would trail in my footsteps without a backwards glance. He would go to Hell and back if I told him to. Perhaps he—this boyish, pitiful excuse for a warrior—will bring my demise.

I laugh aloud suddenly. I am still standing outside the freezer that holds my fresh kill.

Kakarotto, kill me? I must truly be going insane now.

I fly out to find the idiot. True to my earlier assumption, he is playing. He is swimming with the fish, chortling and splashing around like a three year-old not yet aware of the moon.

"Have you killed anything?" I shout at him. I feel like an idiot myself, levitating next to his playpen and getting sprayed with water. He continues to frolic as if he has not spotted me. My eyes narrow. Why must I deal with this fool? I shoot a ki blast at the water.

"Yaaaaahhh!" It sends him tumbling across the muddy bank. I grab him by the vest and jerk him up to his feet.

"Moron," I sneer. "Didn't you say you were hungry? You think I landed the ship down here so you could take a dive?"

"Uh…sorry, but don't worry, I'll get some food. Sorry!" he apologizes with a cheerfulness that makes me sick.

Again he dives into the water. I look away, exasperated, folding my arms across my chest and waiting. After several seconds, half a dozen fish are piled at my feet. I look down at the weakly wriggling things with disinterest. He takes a minute to catch more, and then lifts them all into the air with telekinesis.

"Let's go eat," he says, and without another word, flies off to the ship. He is trailed by two dozen dead fish through the sky.

Sometimes I wonder why I never shot him in the first place.

The hunt is done. We should have enough food to last for a while. The craft rises, and I take my meal silently as we leave Minaro.

"Vegeta," Kakarotto says, breaking the silence.

I glance at him briefly.

"Do you miss being a prince?"

I do not look at him again. I do not answer.

"Vegeta-"

He is down before he knows it. My left hand grips his throat like a vise, my knee jammed into his stomach, my other hand in a fist above his head. I bring my face close to his, and I see the innocent fear in his eyes.

"What makes you think I ever stopped being the prince?" I hiss dangerously.

"I thought—I just thought that you lost your palace…and the planet-"

"Fool, you do not challenge my authority. Oh no, you do not challenge me."

"I wasn't trying to! I just wondered because-"

"Sometimes I wonder about you, Kakarotto. How someone so utterly _stupid_," I force my knee hard into his gut, "was ever accepted as a royal servant!"

I step off him and let him breathe. I continue eating in silence. Out of the corner of my eye I watch Kakarotto resume his meal also. He stares at me, still confused about what he did wrong. I must make his idiot's mind learn how to respect a prince.

He actually ventures to ask me another question.

"Where's my father?"

I pause.

"I know the last time I saw him was pretty long ago, 'cause then I had to come work for you, and he told me he'd come find me one day, and train me properly, and since my mother was dead, he would—Vegeta? Are you listening?"

Well I'll be damned. He has just asked me if _I _was listening.

I answer. "I don't give a fuck about your father, Kakarotto. And I don't give a fuck about you, either."

He is silent and eats the rest of his meal relatively quietly. Then he gets up and begins to step towards the door. He stops, and stares at me for a good long while. I pretend not to notice, and I do not meet his gaze. There may be something there I do not want to see. When he finally walks away, I glance at his back. And for the first time, I think I see something Saiyajin in his stance.

Bulma:

I lay silently for a long time, going over everything Gero has discussed with me. He really is a brilliant scientist, and for the first time in my life I realize my arrogance and single-mindedness; Gero is a genius. I am just a rash, idealistic girl who is still stuck pondering the dead minds of corpses, while he has begun growing human organs already.

With those, androids should soon be existent.

Why wouldn't he elaborate on the details of his prototypes? I smile to myself. If I were in his place, I would keep my breakthrough discoveries a secret, too. Especially when people like Bulma Briefs were around to snatch it all away.

I feel guilt for bearing such suspicion towards Gero earlier. Scientists are supposed to be strange. I can just look at myself and agree. I cannot wait for tomorrow, another day during which I can uncover even more of what I have yearned so much to find. The composition of the soul, the root of emotions, perhaps even the mystery of conscious thought after death. The mere thought of the endless possibilities that I will have before me makes my spine tingle.

I have only constructed robots so far, like that worthless contraption Aimio and her series. Their systems are complex and they are capable of thought processing, but their boundaries are so clearly limited. They are merely machines and nothing more. Now androids, on the other hand…

I play with a few strands of my hair absently. Androids would have hair. Hair that grows like mine, and causes pain when it is yanked. They have eyes that hurt under sunlight, that have to adjust to the dark. They have taste and pleasure and fear and apprehension and joy…and souls.

I am letting my imagination run wild again. I turn listlessly on my side. The bed is no longer comfortable, for I have been lying awake for too long. My throat is dry. Where did Gero say I could get water? My head gets dizzy as I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the bed. The soles of my feet touch the floor, and I walk through the darkness towards the door.

It is so quiet here. The hallway is dark and somehow foreboding. I expect to hear echoes of my footsteps reverberating off the walls, but there are none. I am barefoot. I don't know what time it is. Come to think of it, I don't even know how this planet's time system works.

I think Gero told me to take a right for the kitchen. Or was it straight ahead? I try the first door I see. It creaks open, and as soon as I enter I can tell the room has not been used for a while. The dust makes me sneeze. I turn to leave, and then stop.

The hallway is silent. However, there is a droning sound in this room, underneath the floor. Perhaps it is just the air-conditioning. But I am curious, so I put my head to the cold tiles and listen. Now I hear more than just a drone. I hear irregular beeps, like the sounds an oscillometer emits. I strain harder. I think…I think I hear typing…

Gero must have another lab underground, where he conducts his more important experiments. I feel a rush of anticipation as my curiosity is set alight. I have to find the stairs; I can wait for Gero to go away or something…it's late, so it would make sense for him to go to bed around now.

I explore the hallways with painstaking scrutiny, but find no stairwell or elevator. How am I supposed to get down there? Again I return to the dusty room and listen. I hear footsteps receding toward the left wall. Immediately I leave the room and keep listening against the floor, following Gero's footsteps until they stop. A door faintly swings open, and the footsteps now begin on stairs. I have traced them to the middle of the corridor. They are nearing me, ascending…

I dash as quietly as I can into the adjacent room, where I wait, breathing excitedly. A hole appears in the wall, and Gero comes into my sight. I hold my breath and tense up as he passes by, a few inches from where I stand in the semi-darkness. He turns and points a remote at the wall, and the hole disappears. I stay completely still until I hear a door shut down the hallway.

My sweaty feet stick to the floor as I sneak out of my hiding place. I put my hands on the seemingly solid wall. I gasp as they sink through. My arms up to my elbows are inside the wall.

The hole must have been a hologram. I take a breath as if I am about to jump into a pool of water, and then I move the rest of my body inside the wall. My heart hiccups as I trip down a stair. I did not expect the stairs to start right after I stepped through the entrance. I grope my way down, clutching at the walls. I get down to a door, and find that there is no handle. A small red light flickers on the wall. It is a security device that prompts me for a code. Well, this should be easy enough…

In a minute I actually manage to break Gero's complex system of access codes. With an almost silent whoosh the door opens. I step inside.

The drone I heard upstairs is louder here, coming from the far back of the lab. I begin walking toward it, but scan my surroundings for anything interesting. I almost trip over some large object on the floor. My foot meets something wet and sticky. I look down, and cover my mouth before I can scream. Skin and mangled flesh are ripped over a robotic torso, the chest cavity broken open, revealing snapped wires and various other mechanical wrecks. My feet are both bloodied.

I force my eyes away from the appalling sight and look around myself again. Several tables are lined up in rows with typical lab instruments strewn across them, but they seem like they have been untouched for quite a while. Gero must be moving on to bigger and better things, like synthetic flesh, I think bitterly. I cannot believe I am actually jealous of a man who has created a robot with flesh and left it on the floor in shreds.

I wipe my feet on the floor and keep going, walking past a gigantic computer that I toy with a little. All the files on it are heavily encrypted, and I do not feel like figuring them out just yet. I go on to another set of doors, and again I take a minute to gain entrance through the access device.

I step inside this back room, my gaze on the floor for any more surprises. My eyes slowly work their way along and stop at the bases of two pillars. Then I freeze.

Two glowing tubes, stretching from floor to ceiling, two bodies inside of them, submerged in bubbling yellow liquid, glowing with the only light in the room. My feet carry me forth to them, my mind transfixed. Gero was successful. These are actual androids.

My hands are shaking. I place my palm on the glass of one tube. My eyes are mesmerized by the floating form dormant before me. Her light hair flows in waves around her flawless face, her eyes closed, her arms spread, her full breasts suspended above a thin stomach and waist, her legs afloat and her toes pointing downward. My hand trembles again. The android created by Dr. Gero is so utterly beautiful. I pity her.

I turn to the other tube. First I notice the raven-black hair, stark in contrast against the pale white skin. His face, too, is perfect, identical to the female's. His body is a work of art, his torso in perfect proportion with his legs, his arms muscled, his chest tight, his hips straight and taut around his manhood. He and she must be twins. A spark of anger burns in my heart when I remember they are Gero's creations. What will he do with them? Life does not deserve to be manipulated at the hands of a sick old man!

I think back to my Bardock Saiyajin. He is gone and I will never see him again. I wonder what kind of a soul he had. He was mystical. He had actually talked to me and formed some inexplicable bond with me. I have a feeling that he was not a normal Saiyajin. Now I see these two man-made humans. Do they really have souls too? Are their brains even mature, or are they like newborn children? I take my hand away from the glass abruptly. For some reason I am suddenly afraid that their eyes will open and look at me.

I move away and sit down at a computer console. A blueprint is open on the screen; Gero must have forgotten to close it. It takes me a few seconds to make sense of all the lines and miniscule lettering, but soon I am studying it with full zeal. Shockingly, almost all of the body consists of real human tissue.

I study the blueprint harder, and get a closer look at the brain. Recently added parts are highlighted, and the word "Saiyajin" catches my eye. I read everything carefully. There are definitely Saiyajin components in the brain. I jump quickly to conclusions. Gero had stolen Bardock from me, and lied. He had told me only lies. Fear quickly replaces my anger. The more I look at these diagrams, the more terrifying the concept of artificial humans becomes. There are some parts that I don't even understand, but there is some strange biological energy inside these two androids. It is impossible for natural power to be so vast! Theirs is almost limitless! Gero must be crazy to toy with power like this!

It seems there is some type of explosive inside the chest cavities of the androids. They are on a joint circuit, which means that both would blow if the circuit were to switch on. Why would-

"You."

I jerk away from my seat and whirl around immediately.

"It seems you have discovered a little more than you have asked for," Gero says darkly. He stands in the light of the doorway, his eyes burning.

"I—I…" I am too shocked to speak. The fear pounds inside my chest, growing tenfold as I am forced to look into Gero's eyes.

"I don't think it is proper for you to be knowing all that you know at the moment," he says, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "I could use another android."

Suddenly I find my voice again. "Bastard. You're just sick."

He ignores me and walks nearer. Oh, damn, how will I get to the door…

I kick the chair in his path and run sideways, trying to get around him. Hands clamp on my shoulders and throw me back across the room. I never knew an old man could move so fast. I slam into one of the incubation tubes, and I immediately scamper to the table, wincing from the pain in my back. My hand grabs the first thing it feels on the table, and I hurl it at Gero. The small object hits him and clatters to the floor. Then all of a sudden he isn't so bent on killing me anymore. His eyes widen in horror as he falls to his knees and fumbles with the little remote control I threw at him. Just as he picks it up, a faint beep is heard, followed by another. I look at the dormant androids, and scream as their glaringly blue eyes snap open.

The glass shatters instantly, showering me with shards and foul-smelling liquid as I am blinded by the unbelievably bright auras around their bodies.

"Oh no, oh no," Gero moans in despair. "Not yet…not now…"

The male looks at him once in disdain. It speaks. "Oh, you. I hate you."

I scream at the horrifying squelch of Gero's head being crushed against the wall, already severed from his body. I cannot stop screaming, cowering against the leg of the table and quaking uncontrollably. Blood flows everywhere on the floor from the dead body's throat, pooling around the android's feet. His face is perfectly calm, even amused as he looks at me. What kind of monsters has Gero created?

The female walks toward me, her hands on her hips. I shut my eyes and whimper, waiting for that spontaneous blow to fall and end my life.

"Eh, Juunana, she's so scared of us." Her voice is flat, but her cackle sends shivers down my spine. She bends down so her eyes are level with mine. I open them and stare at her face, and I know she is enjoying the fear she sees in my eyes.

"Listen, sweetie, all I need are the clothes you're wearing, all right?" she coos as one would to a child. I do not move.

"What—what are you…" I manage to gasp, my voice trembling. The male looks away in disinterest as his twin grabs me by the shirt and lifts me effortlessly in the air.

"My name is Juuhachi, and this is Juunana," she says with a smile. "I don't want to know your name, though. I just want your clothes. Are you gonna give 'em to me?"

"I—I…"

And her sweet laughter is the last thing I hear before I hear no more.

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	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Vegeta:

Bam!

His fist digs into my cheek before I go flying into the wall. I hadn't seen that coming. He gets faster everyday, and the challenge for me becomes all the more difficult.

Bam! He is down and grounded. I can always meet a new challenge.

"Ow!" Kakarotto winces. I yank him up to his feet and smack him across the face.

"You don't have time to whine in the middle of a battle," I snap, letting go of him.

His knee connects with my stomach in an instant, and his fists slam me down to the floor.

"I don't have time to answer your advice, either," he taunts, and we begin another round. It always amazes me how astute his mind is in battle, and how slow it can be at all other times.

I get in close, weaving around his fists, and knee him in the groin. As his hands instinctively snap down to grip the pain, I trip him with ease, and he falls to the floor on his back. The most vulnerable position. It is a good thing this room is ki-dampening; it can handle the burns while I beat the shit out of Kakarotto.

He shouts and cries out as lightning blows smash all over his body, but he does not ask for mercy. For I know that if I pause for even a split-second, he will recover and force me into the defensive. But meanwhile this is quite fun. There is so much satisfaction to gain from just feeling your fist pounding into flesh and hearing bones crack.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Prince Vegeta.

I jump off of Kakarotto and allow him to rise. Wiping the dripping sweat off my brow, I listen again for the computer's voice. It is programmed to interrupt my training only at the most crucial news. This better be important.

We have entered the orbit of an unknown planet. This has not been planned-

My head slowly turns toward Kakarotto's hunched form. He does not notice my glare as he breathes heavily with his hands on his knees.

"You messed with the controls, didn't you?" I accuse.

"Uh…well…"

I am already out the door, getting to the navigation panel so I can correct the course. Beginning the tedious process of setting new coordinates _yet again_, I glance out the viewing window at this rogue planet. It has much more landmass than Minaro, and fewer oceans. There also seems to be a light show playing in one part of the main continent. That catches my attention. The familiar explosions of ki effervesce in giant bright bubbles spreading to the atmosphere, but I cannot sense the ki at all. How can this be? Such immense releases of power, and no readings? I delete the coordinates I have input, and decide to head straight down to this planet.

Ki means battle.

While on my way to the private chambers I brush by Kakarotto roughly, ignoring his bumbling apology.

"You might want to go hide in your room. A real battle awaits me down there."

My voice laced with scorn, I shut the door.

As I ready my combat armor, I wonder what kind of warrior I will be facing. It has been so long since I killed something worthwhile…I will make sure to draw out my victory and savor the bloodshed. I just hope Kakarotto doesn't interfere. The stupid boy is too clumsy and inexperienced to win anything.

But inside, I know that I only want him to keep out of this so I can show him my true power. With the obvious limitations of this ship's training room, I do not get a chance to battle seriously. I need to remind him who will always be on top, ever since the Minaro incident.

I wait until the ship lands, and program it to track my ki, and to follow my path to where I land. Ki raised, I step out, advertising my presence to any opponents. I hear two other feet step out behind me, and still I ignore him. He follows me wordlessly as I take to the air and begin the search.

There are no more explosions or ki discharges, to my dismay. No signs of devastation are in sight, yet. Endless fields of green are all I see, this planet might as well consist of one gigantic meadow. Kakarotto is silent behind me, also scanning for any life. I put on a burst of speed, halfheartedly trying to leave him behind, even though I know he will catch up. So begins a little race that actually works to my benefit, accelerating the search itself.

There, ahead. Oh yes, there has definitely been some action here. The vast meadows suddenly stop at a jagged line, and beyond it is burnt wasteland. Craters the size of lakes cover the ground, earth upturned everywhere, forming hills and deep ditches. The smoke has already diminished; I must be late.

"You think a Saiyajin was here?" Kakarotto asks.

"No such chance," I answer flatly.

"Yeah, I guess not. I can't even feel any ki," he notes.

"Whatever it is, it probably went into hiding when it felt me coming. I'll blast it out if things become boring."

He says nothing. I cannot tell if this is a sign of submission or disrespect.

"Wait," he stops in midair, and I loop back towards him.

"What is it?" I demand.

"There's ki down there, right…about—there," he says, pointing a finger to the land a thousand feet below us. "It's really small, like-"

With some effort I am able to sense the diminutive life energy Kakarotto has picked out. It wavers, like a candle flickering in the wind. Definitely not the opponent I am seeking.

"It's just a dying animal, let's not waste time," I say dismissively, and begin to fly away.

"No, wait. This is strange," he says, unmoving, his eyes revealing that sharp intelligence that comes to him erratically and spontaneously. "This is _so_ strange…it feels like…like my father…"

"Your father is—"

I abruptly stop myself. "It's impossible, Kakarotto," I amend hastily.

"I'm going to check it out," he says firmly, and rockets down to the source of the ki. Resignedly, stupidly, I follow. Shame burns in my chest as I realize I am being helplessly towed along by this third-class warrior.

He sifts through the rubble of a demolished building. The smell of acid fills my nostrils, and I see the ground stained in patches of fluorescent colors, perhaps spilled contaminants. I do not see any remains of anything living yet. I fling aside chunks of metal and rock, not bothering to watch where they land, while Kakarotto examines everything in his path with exhaustive care. My foot kicks aside a large rod lodged in a pile of metal.

A streak of aquamarine blue catches my eye just as I turn away. Peering more closely, I see a face of pale skin smeared with blood. It is a naked woman, unconscious and half-dead. I kneel down and check her pulse, weakly throbbing in her slender wrist. She is alive, but barely. As I begin to rise, her scent hits me, and I find it more intoxicating than the acid on the ground.

"Vegeta! You found it?" Kakarotto calls, and I stand up immediately.

"Yes," I reply.

"Oh, she's almost dead!" Kakarotto sounds so concerned. He lifts her with great care, as if her body is made of glass, and throws an innocent glance at me. "We've got to get her in a regen tank!"

"Dump the damn corpse here. I don't have time for this," I say disdainfully, looking away from the inert body he holds in his arms.

"She's still alive, Vegeta," he says, now almost glaring at me. "We can-"

Bam!

Suddenly he is flying sideways, leaving a trail of blood droplets in the air, struck by a powerful blow to the jaw. Involuntarily I move forward to catch the delicate thing wrenched forcefully from his hands. I stare down at her for a second before realizing that the enemy must have just arrived. A hundred feet away, Kakarotto is just getting up, wiping his lip of blood, his ki flaring angrily.

A blonde female and a black-haired male land several feet away from me, looking almost exactly alike. By the looks of them I know I will enjoy wiping the smugness off their faces.

"Hey, spike doll. You into dead women?" the female taunts. I keep my composure calm as I inwardly berate myself for forgetting about the weakness in my arms. Promptly I drop her, hearing a thud as her body hits the ground.

"I'll be into you once you're a dead woman," I shoot back breezily.

To my surprise the male slaps her on the back, laughing at my crack. She pushes him away with a scowl.

"He forgot to tell you about your oversized bra, Juuhachi. Two sizes too big, eh?" he says loudly, clearly annoying to his partner.

Kakarotto suddenly juts in, his voice concise and brimming with fury. "You did all of this?"

The two turn simultaneously to face him. The blonde puts on a mask of total innocence. "Who, us?"

Kakarotto takes a step forward, but I intervene to take matters into my own hands.

"Well, I must say, you did a thorough job of wasting a quarter of the planet. I couldn't help but notice the fireworks, so I decided to drop by and join in. You two seem like you'll be fun to kill."

The male whistles and rolls his eyes. "Ooo, tough guy wants to take us on. Whaddya say, Juuhachigou?"

"I bet I can kill both of them first," she says, not taking her narrowed eyes off me.

Kakarotto has been silent since I interrupted him. He is ready for a battle, I can feel him yearning for it. Perhaps he will put up a good show.

"Well then." I smile thinly. "I got my cash down."

Bulma:

The ground trembles beneath me, jolting my head against the rocks, jerking me painfully into consciousness. I groan through bleeding lips, a feeble hand brushing dirt out of my eyes. Tremors continue to thunder through the earth, my entire body vibrating and my head pounding with a thousand drums. What is happening?

Straining with effort, I lift my head and peer through the dense dustclouds surrounding me. My throat lets out a hacking cough, choking on the debris, my nose inhaling the scorching heat in the air.

Then it all comes back to me, and I realize with dread that it must be the androids. Why am I still alive?

A deep-throated scream tears through the air, followed by that eerie laughter, sending shivers down my spine. They have found someone new to torture.

SSSSSSEEEEUUUU!

A bright beam sears past me, singing my skin and exploding in a great burst of light only a couple of feet behind me. The shock wave sends me tumbling forward, and amidst my tangled limbs and disconcerted mind, my hand makes contact with flesh. At once a strong hand closes like a vise over my upper arm, and I find myself staring into the face of Bardock. I scream, my eyes widening as he tightens his grip on me. His other hand covers my mouth.

"Oh! She woke up!" the black-haired android exclaims with sick glee. He lands not four feet away from my face.

"Bastard." The man lying next to me spits, suddenly releasing me and charging the android in a whirlwind of light. The impact of his strike rolls through the ground and knocks me away like a tumbleweed…into the feet of Juunana's twin. Fear catches like a thorn in my throat. I cry out as I am yanked up by the hair.

"I must thank you for your generosity. It seems I didn't get to show my gratitude last time," she says, smirking in my face. At once, hatred for her burns right through my fear.

"…Bitch…" I manage to gasp, breathing raggedly, my nose almost touching hers. "I'll kill you…"

Yes. I will kill her, before she gets off this planet to wreak havoc elsewhere. And I know exactly how I will do it. It's funny how I can think so straight when death is looking me in the face. Literally.

"Oh? What's that? I'm a bitch? Well, why didn't you say so before?" she says, gritting out the last word and twisting my hair around, causing pain to shoot into my scalp, and I only let out a small whimper.

"I'll blow you up, _bitch_. And your brother too," I say simply. Realization dawns in her eyes, and for a second I have her fearing _me_.

Then something strikes her, and I see only a blur as I am knocked loose from her grasp. As I collapse on the floor I feel blood draining my body in multiple places. Exhaustion begins to take over after the initial adrenaline rush of confronting Juuhachigou face-to-face.

She shrieks in surprise and anger, and now I see the back of an armored man, his fiery midnight hair swept upwards and his arms crossed in a confident poise. I shiver as he speaks. I know him. The prince of Saiyajins. The killer of Bardock.

"Are you going to fight or not? Please, entertain me before I skin you and hang you out to dry."

Her face contorts with fury, and bright glowing balls appear in her open hands. I duck my head and scream my throat hoarse as they begin to fight, the sounds of fist meeting flesh and energy blasts being hurled everywhere deafening in my ears. I am caught in the middle of a four-way war, helpless in the center of a battlefield. My body aches everywhere, and the fear of death looms like a guillotine in my mind. Any stray energy blast could wipe me out instantly…and now that Juuhachigou is ticked off at me, she may aim to kill me at any time…

I desperately pray for the Saiyajins to win…but even then I do not know what they would do to me.

I have no choice but to help them. Staying here will only mean immediate death. Crawling on cut hands and bruised knees, I inch my way through the demolished remains of Gero's laboratory until I see the outline of a ship.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Ignoring the scene of devastation that blankets me with dirt, suffocating heat, and nausea, I inch my way towards the craft. Every step brings me closer, I keep telling myself. I must keep going, even though I am beginning to see stars. I must get on board.

The door is open, the ramp already down. As quickly as I can, I climb through the entrance, dragging myself along on my hands and elbows. Lights flash everywhere inside, a computerized voice repeatedly giving instructions for takeoff, all in vain. I search for any weapons or machinery I can use or manipulate; I find nothing. Almost every room is locked. Finding the head of the ship, I look outside and see both Saiyajins lying on the ground.

The androids taunt them, taking turns in dealing the blows, not giving a chance for them to rise. No, they are going to lose! I bite my lip in frustration, forcing myself to look away from the window.

I think back to the blueprints I saw on Gero's computer. I had formed a plan to kill them, but that would take up too much time. Desperately I scour all the information I still remember. Through the screaming chaos in my mind I bring back the picture of the retinal components of the androids. They can be blinded if light overloads their vision…my fingers flip multiple switches and buttons, searching for lights…no, weapons.

This ship must have an armory of some sort, but then again, with Saiyajins on board, who needs defense? I begin attempts to communicate with the computer.

Arsenal? I type in universal code.

Begin ki input. it immediately responds, and a small panel slides out over my lap. I place my palms on the two imprints of hands, my fingers dwarfed by the large engravings, no doubt meant for large Saiyajin hands.

Ki level insufficient. the computer states the obvious.

I let out a cry of exasperation. The Saiyajins even power their ships' weapons with their own energy!

Suddenly a jolt runs through me like a thousand volts of electricity, and I scream myself out of breath as my palms plaster themselves to the pad, throbbing with a glowing energy.

"AHHHH! Ah! Ah! Ahh!" The pain is unbearable, worse than any other torture I have undergone so far! My vision fades in and out hazily, and through this all I feel everything draining from all parts of my tormented body into my hands, channeling into the ki panel. Streams of tears flow from my face down my neck and chest.

Ki level sufficient.

My hands come off the panel like two suction cups being torn off the wall, and I collapse backwards on the chair. What…what the hell had just happened to me? Where did that power come from?

Lasers charged.

No time to think about it.

Hanging onto consciousness by a mere thread, I type with twitching, burnt fingers. Two red dots appear on the screen, and I have to fight to keep my aim steady, focusing the blinking lights on the two monsters I have to kill…or at least blind for the moment…

One of the Saiyajins tries to rise again, and actually blocks a blow from his oppressor. It is the Prince. A shock wave rolls through my senses, similar to the sickening hatred I feel for Juuhachigou, my enemy. I hate him now, too. My finger instinctively hovers over the release switch.

_Do it._

I almost back away. This sudden animosity towards the Prince is not mine at all. It is Bardock's. He is using me for revenge. My brain is in a jumble. But isn't Bardock alive, out there next to Juunana? I have gone insane.

_Do it._

I grit my teeth and take aim once more for my desired targets. I switch the twin lasers on. Each blinking light is pinpointed at their faces, in their eyes. Neither of them is aware of what will hit them.

_Do it._

Yes.

I flip the switch.

Vegeta:

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" the blonde bitch wails, now lying on her back on the ground, rubbing feverishly at her eyes. I draw my fist back, my legs wobbling under me, and bring it down-

•v£ 6ý¹‹JŽP˜èð!«˜v´Däe�F!LÌpÐðáÖ8žl„ðcÂ‡ €ÕN 4ðá ŽJB K —ÊB‡N:D‚Ðœ³"ÈeÙ t™M›öƒ°(P Æ‚gN¼øðÝJl°F¢KŸNŠå;ulence dies down, and the engines slow as the ship drifts in orbit. Everything is silent; my ears are filled only with the sound of my shallow breathing. Kakarotto shifts awkwardly, as if pretending not to know that I lie broken and defeated. My eyes waver to the form next to him, slumped across the captain's seat. It is the blue-haired female. And she is still unconscious.

"She saved us." Kakarotto's voice is quiet.

Despite my condition I sneer at him. "A woman in a coma saved us? How stupid can-"

"I know she did," he interrupts, and carries her limp form to me. I drag myself up to lean against the wall, staring blankly at my blood covering the floor.

"Look." He shows me her hands, severely burnt, the skin raw. "She charged the weapons and fired."

"It's not possible, Kakarotto. Her ki was barely readable!" I rasp, holding back coughs that threaten to tear my throat apart.

"But it happened," he says stoutly. His arms wrap around her shoulder as if he is cradling an infant. "When—when she woke up—in the middle of the battle…I touched her…and she felt like my father. It was-"

"Idiot." I cannot hold back any longer. "Your father is dead."

He stops and looks at me with a frozen stare.

"Bardock is dead. I killed him, all right, Kakarotto? I killed your goddamn father, just like I would've killed those two bastards today if you hadn't decided to high-tail it outta there."

He does not move, his stare is transfixed. My breathing is even more labored than before, and yet I return his ghostly look with defiance. He shifts his arms and lets go of the unconscious body.

"I think it's time I got you in a regen tank," he whispers, and he lifts me by the waist. I cannot even lift a hand against him. This is unbearable. He does not even believe I am sane anymore.

I am helpless as he dumps me in a tank and fills it with water. I am helpless as he continues to stare at me even as my breathing begins to stabilize through the oxygen mask. I am helpless as he puts the female next to me, in this single tank we have on this ship. I am helpless as my skin is forced against hers, as my body is forced to touch her. Smooth, pearly skin against my chest. The slight swell of her breasts on my skin, her long hair brushing my neck. I look in her face.

I am helpless as her utter beauty engulfs me.

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	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Bulma:

"My name is Kakarotto."

He tells me that he is Bardock's son. The uncanny resemblance between them makes my mind shudder; it still feels like I am talking to the corpse I dissected.

"How did you know my father?" he asks intriguingly.

"Well, as a scientist…I study different races around the galaxy…" I lie. "I think we crossed paths once. His name slipped from my mind until I saw you."

His eyes lighting up, he inquires further. "Where did you see him? What did he say?"

"I honestly don't remember…it was pretty long ago."

There is no way I am telling him that I scavenged his father off a battlefield and spilled the contents of his brain out on a laboratory table. Smiling genially, I try diverting the topic away from Bardock.

"So what happened out there today? What was with those light beams flying around?"

"It's called ki…" he frowns. "But you felt it before. You charged the ship's lasers."

"Oh, yeah… It just sort of happened—because I needed it to happen. I never felt ki before."

The piteousness of my answer eats at me. But the pity I feel for Kakarotto is greater, for he is such a trusting person that he accepts everything I say. What would he do if he knew about Bardock's death, and about my shameless experiments?

What would he do if he knew that his companion in the regen tank was the killer of his father?

"That's strange," Kakarotto says, and lets it go. His unsuspecting manner strikes another painful chord in my heart. "You had enough power to hurt the enemy, and I gotta thank you for giving us an escape."

"Oh, I had some issues of my own to settle," I say darkly. "I crash-landed on that planet, and met some insane old man who built those two androids."

"Androids? What are those?" he asks, genuinely curious. For a second I pause; his eyes look so innocent, and his expression is as clueless as a child's.

"Well, and android is…a robot, sort of, based on the body of a living thing. In this case, Juuhachi and Juunana were based on humans. Because they are artificial, they would really be called Juuhachigou and Juunanagou."

"Oh. I don't like them at all, but it must be horrible having numbers for names. I think your name is pretty."

"Thanks," I say, utterly befuddled at the mercurial nature of Kakarotto's character.

"But something as pretty as 'Bulma' wouldn't fit the android girl. She's beautiful, but she's a monster. Just like her brother. They're both monsters. I wasn't hurt too bad, but Juuhachigou hurt Vegeta pretty seriously…she almost killed him," he says, staring past me to the tank where his partner is healing.

"Oh yes, Vegeta. How is he?"

"He should be fine now. He had to stay in the regen tank longer than you," he smiles, standing up. I get out of the makeshift bed in the corner of the room and follow him to the tank. It is a remarkable piece of equipment. The blue liquid has amazing healing properties, and the circulation system must be very complex in order to maximize the rejuvenation process. I am not in the position to make any demands at the moment, but perhaps Kakarotto will let me take it apart sometime. Now that I am in no immediate danger, I feel no need to leave, unless the Saiyajins don't want me here. I'm pretty used to drifting around in space and experiencing bizarre, life-threatening joy rides anyway.

He stays back silently as I walk slowly around the globular tank, watching the bubbles float up from the oxygen mask. My back turned to Kakarotto, I let my eyes wander to the figure suspended in sleep. Fascination replaces the apprehension I initially feel whenever I set my eyes on him. He was a cold-blooded killer when I first saw him, finishing Bardock as cleanly as possible, as if he didn't want to dirty his hands. That permanent scowl on his angular face reinforces the darkness of his persona. My eyes meander further and I forget that Kakarotto is watching me. His voice snaps me away from the glass.

"Excuse me, Bulma, but if you're a scientist, do you think you can help me with something?"

"Uh, of course. What is it?" I ask.

"I want you to program the ship's computer never to return to that planet with the androids on it. Just lock it out, encrypt it, whatever. Before Vegeta wakes up. Because I know that he's going to go crazy trying to get back there. He hates running away," he says, smiling wryly.

"I'll try," I answer.

"You probably have until tonight, which is plenty of time for a smart girl like you, right?"

I blush. "Well I'll do anything to keep Vegeta from going berserk. Or getting his ass beaten by the androids again."

"Vegeta will go berserk," Kakarotto confirms. "Once he finds out the coordinates are blocked."

I gulp nervously. He laughs.

"Don't worry. He usually beats me up anyway. I'll cover for you," he says, as if it is a laughing matter.

In one hour I am able to block Xethyros as a destination for this ship. The computer is so interesting and so rich in advanced data that I stay there for a couple hours more, exploring the different systems joined in the main.

"You're not hungry at all?" Kakarotto asks, bringing me some water.

"No, just tired," I answer, yawning. "I guess I should go to sleep again."

"Yeah, get some rest. I'll see you in a few hours, then," he says briefly. "Make yourself comfortable before Vegeta wakes up."

Back in my small room, I undress slowly and methodically, my mind drifting in calm despite the chaos I have been through.

Prince Vegeta of the Saiyajins. Catchy title.

Bardock had wanted me to kill him. I had resisted. His spirit is beginning to haunt my senses. Progress in my study is now made only through my experiences of his presence, no longer through scientific experiments. I have entered the supernatural zone of science, whereupon anything I construe cannot be backed by reason or math.

Finding his son and his killer living together and fighting side by side is an irony his spirit must feel. Furthermore, Kakarotto does not even know that he is dead, and that Vegeta killed him.

So I now believe in his spirit, that it exists. I believe I have accomplished my goal of research on soul matter. I believe Bardock's restless soul has attached itself to me, and I am not afraid, for he has protected me. Up to now.

The only bad thing about it is his lust to murder the prince.

Oh, a soap opera. What a picturesque setting for my space travels. So what will I do now?

Go to sleep, Bulma, I tell myself. I slide under the covers, lying for a while just staring at the floating figure in the tank. So perfect. My heart flutters as he stirs, a cloud of bubbles foaming in the blue liquid.

I think of calling Kakarotto. But I do not want to move, transfixed by the waking form of the prince. From this side view, I see his eyes open, and his hands reach up to snap off the breathing mask. The liquid drains, and he stands, his dripping hair still brushing the top of the tank. He is going to step out and see me. I wonder with a twinge of fear what he might do. I draw the blankets more thickly around me.

Click. The glass slides down, and I shield my eyes as Vegeta flares his bright ki, all the water evaporating off his body. I fight down the natural wariness I feel whenever I see him, Bardock's spirit still influencing me. A hot shiver passes through me. I had said before that once I finished my research, I would go back to my normal lifestyle again. Look for people and socialize. Look for men.

"So you're not dead after all." His low, calm voice breaks the silence. He does not even look at me.

"No," I answer. "I am very much alive."

Now he turns to me, his stony gaze burning holes through my skin. I get a good look at him, and I like what I see. I think I'm up to a little challenge here.

"You enjoy staring at me?" he says flatly, his eyes never leaving my face.

I hope he cannot see me blush in the darkness. Left without an answer, he begins to walk out. Two forces play in my heart, one rising with hostility against him, the other inexplicably drawing me towards the danger. The latter wins.

"Wait," I call a little too loudly. He stops, his back still turned. "I—I want to thank you for saving me."

He is silent for a moment. "The Gods know it was not my intention."

Then he leaves, and I do not bother trying to stop him again.

Sighing, I lie down in bed. Tough challenge.

I am remembering a past I have tried to shut out till now. A past in which I believed I was happy, when I had a man whom I thought I loved, when I surrounded myself with people and reveled in their attention. Look at me now. I have almost forgotten the mall trips, the dates, the movies, too busy getting caught in death traps and landing myself on a Saiyajin ship. I don't even know where I'm going. At least I won't be heading back to Xethyros.

Prince Vegeta. A character so intriguing that I must find out more about him, melt that shadow that hangs over him, a mystery.

I wake up in the morning feeling refreshed, happy ignorance clouding my mind like it always does after a good sleep. I get out of bed and stretch, then leave the room to wander the ship. The oversized training shirt that Kakarotto has given me brushes against my thighs as I walk down a corridor, yawning.

Today I will attempt to communicate with my family. I'm sure Mama is very eager for news from me. And Yamucha…we better keep our little friendship going. I just hope I don't annoy Kakarotto too much with my requests.

"Good morning," I say cheerfully as he walks into view.

"Hi," he replies with a smile. He pats his stomach as it growls. "Gotta have breakfast."

Following him into a freezer room, noticeably colder than the other rooms, I discover that all the food they have is meat. Distastefully I hold out a piece of raw…animal…while he gobbles down monstrous portions at a time.

"Oh," he notices my unease. "Here."

Taking it from me, he cooks it right there with his hand glowing alight. "What race are you again?"

"Huf©æçTpaccepting the now scorched meat and taking a tiny bite.

"Oh…and your planet is called Chikyuu?"

"How did you know?" I ask, curious.

"We passed by there once, a while ago."

"And you didn't drop by to say hi?" I grin.

"No," he says flatly, not taking it as a joke. "We probably would have killed everyone there."

The humor evaporating from my face, I look at him quizzically.

"That was the last time we were with other Saiyajins. Vegeta's assistants, some royal officers or something like that. They wanted the planet 'cause it looked like it was worth a lot. So Vegeta just left them there to argue over it and me and him went off on our own," he says, licking his fingers before he gets more meat.

My face begins to whiten. "When was this again?"

"I'm not sure of the time. Five hunts ago. A dozen planetfalls ago. I dunno…you'll have to ask Vegeta," he says offhandedly.

"Kakarotto," I say, urgency flickering through in my voice. "Can I get a hold of any communications device you have on board?"

"Sure. I'm not sure how to work it, though…"

"That's okay. I can do it," I stand up, and after a few seconds he realizes that I want it _now._

At the main controls, he points to a small transmitter built into the other panels. I thank him and get to work on it immediately. After a few minutes I figure out all the basics, and send a stellarsonic message to my lab at home. It should be loud enough for my mother to hear from anywhere inside the house. I wait for a while, hearing static and fuzziness and faint beeps as my message is bounced through space. Five minutes. Ten. Worry eats at me like an biting itch, but I tell myself that this equipment must be outdated, that's all.

Inactivity I hate, so I send another message to Yamucha.

Hey sweetie, you know who it is. How are you? I miss you a lot. I'll come see you soon. I should be heading for home.

I sit down in the captain's seat and sigh. I try to keep calm, looking at things on the brighter side. The Saiyajins had probably left, finding nothing interesting about Chikyuu after all. Everything was fine, and no one had even noticed that they could have been all enslaved in a day. Mama and Yamucha would answer me soon.

In the meantime I stare at the complex setup of the ship's control room, my eyes drifting from one bright colored panel to the next. Suddenly I notice the figure standing on my right, against the far wall.

"Oh…hi," I stammer, hastily rising from the chair. His look emanates nothing but disdain, his arms crossed over his chest in a lax yet confident pose. Slowly, disinterestedly, he unfolds them and walks away from the wall, straight to the communications.

Click. The static stops and the light meters fade with a touch of his finger.

"Hey!" I exclaim. "I had that on!"

"It won't work," he says simply, now heading for the door without so much as a glance at me. "Chikyuu is gone."

"You don't know that!" I say defiantly, striding towards him, cutting him off from the exit.

It is now my eyes against his. Surprisingly we are the same height, and I am close enough to feel the warmth radiating from his muscular body.

"I know." He tries to push me out of the way. I stand my ground.

"How are you so sure?" I challenge him stubbornly.

Shaking his head in amusement, he smirks. "Are all humans as thickheaded as you are?"

"Are all Saiyajins as rude and vicious as you are?" I retort.

"Yes," he replies.

I am no longer scared of this bastard. Just really pissed off. "Chikyuu wasn't destroyed. My messages would've gotten there by now if you hadn't turned the damn thing-"

He cuts me off with a wave of his hand. "When a Saiyajin wants something, _he gets it._ If another Saiyajins wants it too, then something happens called a life-or-death battle. Simple. I didn't feel like being a referee so I left Chikyuu and a group of my men bickering over it. It happens. And a lot of the time, the men forget the planet is there while they're fighting…you know those stray ki blasts…"

"You can call your men, then," I say firmly. "Go ask them what happened, prince."

His eyes flash dangerously at me, but I shake it off. "Bitch, you really want to order me around?"

My hands are wrenched from my sides as he grabs me by the shoulders and swings me into a wall, pressing me against it until I cry out in pain. My arms twitch helplessly, my eyes forced to stare into the deep black pits that burn through me.

"I am the last of the Saiyajins. Curse the others to hell, they are there already. And I have a little order for you," he hisses, his eyes narrowing. Defiantly I raise my chin at him. "Send this ship back to the androids' planet. Now."

"Hell no," I spit, daring to cross the line.

"You won't do it? All right then, human, let's find out if your pathetic planet really is still there," he sneers, and with one hand he reaches to the computer and taps various buttons with effortless speed.

"This is a little search that will trace back to planets where this ship has been," he explains simply. "Twelve planets ago was Chikyuu."

The screen shows an elaborate list of times and ship speeds, temperatures and locations. It includes a map, pinpointing the poles and the equator.

"Now," he says with smugness, "we find out."

He types in a quick inquiry, Current status?

Terminated. the computer beeps.

At the look of anguish on my face, he adds with pleasure, "And it seems like you are the last of the humans."

With a jerk he lets go of me, and is out of the room in a second, his footsteps resounding down the hallway. I slide down to the floor and cry.

Vegeta:

Damn Kakarotto. And damn that exasperating woman he has brought on board.

I had been so close to killing her, so close I could feel her trembling in my grasp, her fragile form radiating fear. So close that her scent nearly drove me over the edge, and her face had me enraptured again. What a weakling I have become. Running from battle. Primal instincts threatening to take over sense. Unable to return to the battlefield and complete the victory that was rightfully mine.

Meditation no longer helps me. I do not want calm right now. I do not wish to rest. I want to fight, savor the taste of spilled blood, enjoy hearing the screams of death. The Dragonballs…I have momentarily forgotten about them. Would they help me? It seems nothing can at the moment.

If I must, I will beat the woman unto she switches course back to the androids' planet. That wouldn't take too long. But Kakarotto would fight me over her…that would complicate things.

The darkness of the room seems to fill up all my senses. My eyes, open, gaze at the ceiling, my ears filled with silence as I lie here in the night of space.

_Give me my son._

_Go back to your gang of asses, Bardock. Perhaps then I will spare you._

_I know you just want us all dead. I don't know why you are keeping Kakarotto alive. But he's mine. _

Drip, drip, drip. Blood.

Faint sounds of ki blasts going off in my head. As if I am standing behind a soundproof wall, a window.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The wall is suddenly torn down. My ears are deafened by the battle sounds in my own mind.

Silence. The wall is back. I am once more an observer of my own battle.

BOOM! BOOM!

Nothing.

BOOM!

Quiet. I shake my head as if to rid it all from my head.

Then a piercing laugh cuts through the near-silence. The she-devil.

"Where's your strength now, hot shot?"

No.

"You said you had your cash down. I guess now you're broke! Ha!" _Crunch,_ the bones in my arm easily snapping under her heel.

"Guess what, monkey boy!" A horrible yank as my tail is ripped off. "You lose!"  
A blinding light. A scream. My only chance.

Then that too is taken away, as I am grabbed and tossed aboard the ship, a matter of seconds. The torture searing through me, worse than any physical wound, that I am helpless and weak and cannot stop running. Helpless, as helpless as the naked woman next to me. Dragging me down into pits worse than hell.

_Vegeta! You're almost dead and you don't even know it!_

Shut up! Shut up!

_Vegeta!_

My eyes snap open, and I jerk upright in bed, my entire body drenched in sweat as I allow myself to breathe, shoulders hunched and chest heaving. Then I notice the body beside me.

The blade is an inch away from my throat, glistening dimly in the light filtering through the door cracks. Just like the blade she holds, her sapphire eyes gleam sharply and triumphantly. She kneels on the mattress, hand poised for a strike, her face leaning into mine. A few seconds of silence seems like forever.

"You," I whisper, staring at her with narrowed eyes. The knife presses against the skin of my neck. "You really think you can kill me with that?"

Her lip trembles, but she raises her head defiantly. "You deserve to die, you cold-blooded murderer."

Her eyes are the same color as the cyborgs'. But they shine with a different medium, brimming with unreleased passion and danger. My entire body tenses. Smiling, I press my throat against the knife. Harder. Harder. Her knuckles turn white as she tightens her grip on the handle, trying to push it into my flesh. I keep leaning forward, closer and closer to her. She gasps in surprise as the blade snaps, and with a flick of my hand the knife clatters dully onto the floor of the other side of the room. She stumbles as I back her against the wall, like a hunter crawling toward prey. My hands plant firmly on the bed, on either side of her legs.

"Like I said," I whisper again, my breath against her mouth, so close, so hot. "You really thought you could kill me with that?"

"Monster. I…I hate you," she stutters, trying to turn away from me.

"You really do?" I ask, my hand carelessly brushing her thigh as I reach up to her face. Slowly, drawing out the torment, I stroke her reddened cheek. "You didn't hate me when you saw me."

"You killed Bardock. You killed everyone. All of my people," she hisses, her mouth now quivering uncontrollably.

"You didn't hate me. You don't hate me," I continue relentlessly, relishing this sweet moment of torture. I have my enemy trapped like never before, vulnerable, cowering before me. I smile. "You want…"

"No," she says softly, shutting her eyes. "No."

My lips brush her cheek once. Then again, nearer to her mouth. I draw closer to her, my legs almost straddling her, her thighs wedged between my knees. One palm on the wall, the other sliding down her neck. My lips on her again, this time more pressure, parting to let my tongue make contact. A shiver passes instantly through her body.

"No," she repeats, her voice barely audible, helpless at her own inner conflicts undoubtedly raging inside her. "No, no, no."

"You…want…this…" The tip of my tongue reaches the corner of her mouth.

"No…I want…I want…" Her attempts to escape have ended already. Pathetic thing. She sits powerless, waiting to be taken. I have already made my decision.

Now even closer, her soft breasts pressing against my chest, my hand curled in her silky hair, the other still stroking her neck as my tongue slips into her mouth. I turn her face towards me, and she looks at me dazedly, her eyelids drooping, her face hot. Her legs shifting, spreading to accommodate me. I know what helplessness and instinct can do. Indecisive, pitiable human, I sneer. So weakly fighting the uncontrollable desires that I have set alight.

"You…want…this," the words releasing themselves between my tongue and her lips. No answer. What has happened to the wild thing I contested with earlier today? Crushed. Fled in the darkness, the silence, the solitude of night and the tired workings of a conquered mind. Willing, unknowingly, to succumb to—this—release of thought, the drunkenness of the soul, the emptiness of the heart…

My tongue burning a hot trail down her neck, hands deftly removing her sweat-stained clothing and tossing them away, my feet kicking off the sheets tangled between my legs, now leaving nothing between us. Skin pressing together. Sinewy, rock-hard muscle against supple, velvet flesh. Body heat insuppressible, already hardening against her entrance.

Now she breaks.

Her lips on my skin, on the side of my neck as I anoint her breasts with my tongue, drawing out the taste of her in my mouth. Around the nipples, my hand caressing one as my teeth lightly brush the other. She lets out a soft moan, her breath warm on my shoulder. Her fingers snared in my hair, bringing my face up to meet her fervent lips, a fiery kiss burning through my emotions, sparking an urgent need, rushing it all on. Her hips jut forward, her legs spread further, thighs tightening on my hips, inviting me in.

I take one last look in her crystal blue eyes.

"You want this," I rasp, and thrust into her deeply.

Her back arches against the wall, her breasts pushing harder against my chest as her hands lock around my neck. I let my teeth scrape against the tender skin of her shoulder, hardly controlling the fervor myself. I begin to move inside her, hips grinding against hers, slowly at first, slowly, rhythmically, her body moving in synchronization with mine. Slight whimpers escaping her lips, eyelids fluttering with the overpowering sensations surging up in her, passing into me. Continuing to build as I move faster, more intensely, thrusting, waiting, coming…and with a final cry, rushing over the top, passions gushing into her, her nails digging deep into my back, a scream torn from her throat.

It is as if bulging floodgates opposite each other, finally broken, spill boundless torrents of water cascading to form an ocean, both sides mixing and merging until the original sources are indistinguishable. Two waterfalls, pounding into one another. Another heart beats with mine, against my chest. But somehow I feel it inside me, too. An overload of frantic emotions, swimming afresh in my mind, combining with my own passions, as I grow hard inside her once more. More…more…

Her hands grasp me feverishly as she cries out again, reeling against me, reaching a second peak that drains the rest of the energy from her body. Eyes shut, arms limp around my shoulders, labored breathing in my ear. Breasts heaving, hips slackened against mine. I draw her away from the wall, still holding her, and lay her down beside me on the bed. Hot, wet skin against mine, she looks wearily in my eyes. We are joined now. Bonded. The floodgates have opened, leaving me with a sea of alien thoughts and desires. No doubt mine have entered her soul as well. No time for regrets or second thoughts. Only acceptance of the consequences.

Her hand rests on the side of my face. The corner of her mouth upturns slightly.

"I wanted this," she echoes, breathless.

Our mouths meet in a last embrace, tender and soft this time, the madness having passed. Serenely, she curls up against me, closes her eyes, and falls asleep. I stroke her hair absently, her even, tempered breathing in my ears.

Bulma. Her name.

Xethyros. The planet to which we will return on the morrow.

Bulma:

I rub my eyes drearily, eyelids heavy and numb. Forcing myself up on my elbow, I blink and look around. The regeneration tank stands before me with its familiar drone of water cycling. I am back in "my" room.

How long did I sleep? I am still so tired.

Then, all at once, the memories of the night before rush vividly through my mind. His touch, his smell, his taste…the wild emotions awash in me…the creepy sensation of knowing a man completely after meeting him for one day.

What the hell did I do?

I put my hand to the side of my head, cursing. I had slept with the man who had caused Chikyuu's destruction! The ruthless bastard who reveled in the pain of others, who had taunted me about the death of all I loved. I…I had let him…

But I wanted him. I wanted him so badly, with the suddenness of the moment, that common sense had fled and left me with only fervent instinct and longing. And I had gotten more than I had bargained for. A deep bonding to his soul. It seems like my continuum of emotions and senses have been multiplied twofold. He is part of me. That cannot be changed.

I sigh with a sinking hopelessness. I had slept with a murderer. But part of me understands, accepts him, and has some inexplicable longing for him still. I get out of bed, walking mechanically to the door and wondering to myself about the heavy consequences of my rash actions. What will I say to him? What will he say to me? What about Kakarotto?

Neither of them is anywhere in the corridors. Then the faint sound of explosions from the other side of the ship reach my ears. They are training. I begin to walk down there, but hesitate. No, I don't want to face him. I am too afraid of his reaction. So I wander the ship alone, wanting desperately to talk to Kakarotto but unable to interrupt their sparring session without confronting Vegeta. My appetite is non-existent. All I can do is try to control the biting worry inside me.

In the controls room I begin toying with several built-in devices. Advanced stuff. It lets the scientist in me take over, at least temporarily subduing the pent-up anxiety weighing like lead on my mind. I should know the layout of the ship's complex computer inside out by now. I'll have a lot to upgrade once I get myself a new ship, and go back home.

Home.

It hits me like deadweight metal. Chikyuu _is _gone.

Suddenly my soul plunges into the murky depths of darkness, completely lost, empty, alone, and hopeless. The burden of the multi-billion death list falls on my back, guilt settling over me even though I am not the one responsible. I am the last human, light-years away from her birthplace, family, and friends, and totally unaware of the genocide that destroyed it all a month ago. Perhaps I can cling to the hope that some survived. Mama. Yamucha. Kuririn. Tenshinhan. All my friends.

But it is unlikely. The obvious truth crushes my hope. So, for the first time since Yamucha's betrayal years back, I cry; tears of sorrow, not the rage of yesterday or the pain of two days ago. Yesterday I had not fully realized what Chikyuu's destruction would mean to me. No home. No identity. Just loneliness. I do not even know how everyone died. I pray that it was instantaneous, painless, triggered by a stray ki blast like Vegeta had guessed.

Or had the Saiyajins landed? Picked their victims apart, enjoying the slaughter and bloodshed? Carving out the guts of innocents for their families to see? Incinerating entire cities with leisure, so it would all burn slowly, people watching their own bodies burn up in horror. Dragging Mama out into the street…dealing Yamucha and Kuririn slow, agonizing deaths for daring to fight back?

No. No, I shut the horrible thoughts out, my hands gripping the sides of my head as I stare tearfully at the computer screen. Vegeta had said he was the last Saiyajin. That meant the rest of them had died. Perhaps killed each other in that battle over Chikyuu, the victor himself so badly wounded that he had met his demise as well, along with the challengers he had slain.

I rock myself back and forth, now sitting on the cold metal floor, arms drawn around my knees. Stupidly weeping, tears running down my face and onto my legs. I had tried to kill Vegeta last night, piling the blame on him, caught up in a demonic rage that placed that knife in my hand. It would have been as simple and satisfying as slicing through the flesh of a cadaver, like Bardock's. I had turned into nothing more than the Saiyajins that destroyed my home. What would have happened, if Vegeta had not woken, and the blade had actually penetrated his skin, severing the jugular? What would I have felt as his blood poured over me, his death throes lashing me on his bed? Would it have been any better than what had actually happened last night?

_I wanted this._

I had said that. I had given the word that I was willing to chain myself to such a creature, a _Saiyajin_, that it was not rape.

"Stop! Stop it!" I cry, shutting my eyes tightly and wishing the whole world away. But when I open them, everything is still here. I am still here.

I drag myself up by the nearest panel, not caring if I switched anything on by accident. The viewing window opens with a small whoosh. Bleary eyes lifting up, I see it.

If this does not snap me out of my living nightmare, it only adds to it. We are heading back to Xethyros.

Forcing my mind to focus, my fingers race as they type frantically into the computer. I had encrypted the lockout coordinates with the heaviest system I knew! It would take the top agents hours to decode! Had I made a mistake? No, I had checked it twice. What…what the hell…

The computer refuses to change course. I check the speed of the ship. Three times the norm, breakneck and dangerous. We are heading back to doom three times faster than before. I try everything I know to turn the ship around or stop. It won't even slow down. Everything is blocked.

I rush out of the room to find Kakarotto. I no longer care if Vegeta is with him; I will have to deal. I quickly unlock the training room door with a security bypass and run in.

"Yo, Vegeta, STOP!" Kakarotto yells, and in a blur he is beside me, shielding me with his aura. I had almost been hit and killed, foolish to jump in the middle of a spar.

Then Kakarotto whirls on me. "What are you doing, Bulma? You could've been killed there, don't you know it's dangerous?"

He is roughly shoved aside, and I swallow a lump in my throat as I face Vegeta. His face hardens like ice as he stares contemptuously at me.

"All right, wench, what the hell is wrong with you? Get out," he commands, but I stand firm. My resolve hardens as well.

"Kakarotto," I say calmly, my eyes never leaving Vegeta's in a standoff. "It seems we have an unhealthy change of plans."

I watch a spark light up the ebony of the prince's eyes. He did it. But how…

Last night. Amidst the passion, the loss of self, and the world-weariness, there had been the connection. The river that had flowed between us, and fused our souls together. The bonding. He now has my knowledge. But a lot more than what I have of his.

Before Kakarotto can speak, Vegeta cackles madly. "You were both such fools. You really think I would just 'let it go?' You think I would forget about your cowardice, Kakarotto, that has loaded such shame upon me? You really think I wouldn't go back and finish the unfinished? You think I don't _hate_ those androids as much as you do, Bulma?" he sneers. "You are fools."

"No Vegeta," I hiss, my voice tipped with poison. "_You_ are the fool. Kakarotto, destroy the planet. Destroy Xethyros,_ now._"

He moves towards the door, just one step, and then Vegeta disappears from view. A huge shock wave rolls through the air, knocking me back. Kakarotto shouts in confusion and anger as Vegeta takes him by surprise.

Bam! Bam! Whoosh! Bam!

This time I do not run away or cower on the floor. Dimly I am aware of the danger, that I could be wiped out in a second, but I do not care anymore. I realize that nothing of mine matters; my home is gone, my loved ones are gone, all I have is my pitiful self and the savage I have bonded with. I stand silently, only blinking as the ki blasts fly by, missing my skin by inches. Their movements are too quick to track, but the impacts of their fists are definitely perceptible. So fast. So powerful. Yet I still stand, waiting for the outcome of this struggle.

Kakarotto's body solidifies, no longer a blur to my eyes, and he crumples to the floor, unmoving. Vegeta straightens and turns to me, smiling cruelly.

"You thought he could stop me?" he gloats, coming nearer. "You think anything can stop me from getting what I want? _You _sure couldn't. Not yesterday."

I keep my face expressionless. Something I picked up from him.

"No. But I wanted to kill you."

"Yes, I suppose you did. But what does it matter? I will be the one dealing the kills today," he says, eager anticipation in his voice. I say nothing, and look away, hoping he does not see the deep sadness I feel.

"You say you hate me, woman. You want to kill me. Yet you sleep in my bed. You hate the androids, you even threatened to kill the female. Yet you run away and refuse to return to face them. Don't you want them to die, the way you want me to die?"

_No_, my soul cries out. _I don't want you to die._

This confrontation is now reaching uncharted depths of my heart, caverns formed unknown to even myself. Until this moment, I have believed that I should kill him. That he deserves to die.

My hand reaches up for the side of his face. The room is dead silent. I look in his eyes again, a silent prayer fleeting, communicating wordlessly what I feel. Now, curse the truths that have led my life till now. Send it all to hell. I have already danced with the devil, sold my soul to him.

His lips meet mine in a hot, fiery embrace. Our bodies twisting together once more, eyes unseeing and shutting out all else, forgetting in seconds the impending fate we will face in hours.

The Gods, if they exist, cannot save my soul now.

And thats number 3 (or 4 )

Review people


	5. Chapter 4 The End

**Chapter 4**

Bulma:

I know how I will do it.

Lying quietly in the aftermath beside him, waiting, waiting for my chance. His muscular arm circles me, his hand playing with my hair. Not a word has passed between us. I shift position, turning on my side, my right hand free. My left strokes his chiseled abdomen lightly, my head resting on his chest. I make as if to stretch and let my arm fall to my other side, brushing the pile of clothing on the floor. Luck plays with me. With one deft, invisible movement, the minuscule object I need is between my fingers.

I had carried more than just a knife yesterday in my assassination endeavor. Why I chose the knife, I do not know. But a full shot seems much more useful to me now.

I turn my head to look in his dark coal eyes. He is unsuspecting. Good. I smile slightly and kiss him on the lips. Meant to be light, emotion suddenly chokes me, and I pour all the rest of my heart into him. He responds just as hotly, that mutual bond between us linking our pleasures and pains. I don't want this to end. If only it could go on forever…

But no. I must do it now, while his guard is down. Before I can change my mind, I slip the needle into his skin, my lips still wrapped up in his kiss. I open my passion-drunken eyes to behold the frozen expression on his face.

"You…" he gasps, clutching my shoulder convulsively with one hand, already weakening.

"It's for the best," I whisper, my voice cracking. I give him a last, fleeting kiss. "Please trust me."

Disentangling myself from his heavy limp arms, I rise, and shut his eyes with my fingers. He will be out for a good while, I hope, long enough for me to succeed in saving him and Kakarotto…and perhaps not myself. I throw my clothes on and walk towards the door, stepping over Kakarotto's unconscious body.

I begin dismantling the compartments of the controls room. My mind set to one goal, everything in line, calm, methodical, no time for error. Piece by piece building my magnum opus. Digging deep in the back of my brain to retrieve the information I need, numbers I thought I had long forgotten drifting back in precise order. Retracing my steps, ensuring everything is working right, with this plan of construction—and ultimate destruction.

Holes. I see them now. Missing parts I cannot substitute for. Holes in the plan. Keep calm, Bulma. Plan B swings into action as soon as we land this baby. We will be touching down exactly where we took off. Vegeta really had learned too much from me. Outsmarted me. But this time, it is I who will win—and then lose.

My patience is steady as the ship slows, rattling through atmosphere and burning through particle-saturated space. I finger the little device in my hand. Will it work? No time to question. I make sure every little screw and chip is in place, and tuck it safely into a pocket I have cut into these training pants.

How much a man has changed me in a night. Thrown me helplessly into a measureless abyss of…I guess it could be called love. It is no use wondering why my heart has taken this path. The Gods have abandoned me. Bardock has cursed me.

But I will save him.

Minutes before the ship lands, I rub my face with grease and waste, spreading it on my clothing as well. I burn a section of my hair. I tear my shirt in several places, and spread animal blood over it. I am ready.

Whoosh. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr……

The engine dies down as the ship lands. Plan B commences. My mind calm as a placid lake, like an actress about to step onstage to face an audience of millions. I step down on the soil of Xethyros, the wind ruffling burnt strands of hair. Right away I stumble, staggering clumsily with a limp, heading for nowhere. Moving, moving, distancing myself from the ship so it may be safe. When I judge it is far enough, I fall to the ground with a cry. I lie there stupidly and begin to cry, tears now coming easily when I need them.

_Please, please,_ I pray silently. Please work. Fall into my trap.

My wails continue, loud and full of pain. The device vibrates against my thigh. They are coming. My throat tenses up, the fear of this moment threatening to overrun my composure and ruin me. But as the actress can still speak with confidence and move with grace, I hold firm. For the murderer whom I love. For the hope that he loves me.

Clump. Clump.

Two boots land in front of me, worn brown leather; _my _boots. Looted from me along with the rest of my clothing from home. I raise my head weakly, dazed eyes staring blankly up at the pristine face with the almond blue eyes, framed with the beautiful golden hair.

"Back for more, sweets?" The voice glazed with delight. I do not answer, only moan.

The corners of her mouth turn down in a mocking pity-frown. "Aw, what's the matter? You look a little roughed up. Are you still gonna try to kill me?"

Roving aimlessly, my eyes resemble those of a madwoman's. "I…killed…I—killed them already."

"You've lost your mind," she comments coolly, pulling me up by the throat. I thrash helplessly in her iron grip, trying to pry her hands off my neck. Taking pleasure in seeing my face turn blue, she finally lets me go, and I steady myself on wobbling legs.

"I should just kill you right now," Juuhachigou says, boredom now evident in her voice. I suddenly snap to awareness, out of the shock that played on my face before, and fear etches its way across my features.

"No, don't kill me," I plead weakly, hands clasped together to beg. "Don't-"

"You called me a bitch last time. Plus you shot me in the eyes and let my Saiyajin toys escape. Ticked me off just a little bit, don't you think?" she says, looking away as a ki ball forms in her hand.

Here it is, the pivoting point of the plan. Will she buy it?

"No! Stop!" I shout, desperate. "If you kill me, you'll die too!"

"What?" she says, cocking one fine eyebrow at me.

"The—the bomb inside you, Juuhachigou. It's going to blow."

"What the hell are you talking about?" she demands. Then a smile creeps across her face. "Oh…so you came through with your promise after all, eh? What are you waiting for? Go ahead, blow me up."

"No—you don't understand. Vegeta—the Saiyajin—oh Gods I've been through hell with him…he wanted to kill you this way. Once we landed he planned to track you down and set off the bomb inside you."

"Oh, no, no. Please, cowardly human, spare me the excuses. Why don't you just take responsibility for this all? 'Cause guess what? Vegeta knows nothing about the mechanics of me or Juunanagou," she alleges straightaway. "But you do, don't you?"

"He used me, Juuhachigou," I mumble, my head drooping. "I thought I could trust-"

"Idiot girl. You think I have a computer as a base for no reason? You think I'll believe your shit?"

"Please listen to me-you're running out of time! Just let me go and I'll remove it!"

"'Oh please Juuhachigou, don't gut me,'" she mocks, her tone dripping sarcasm. "All right, where are they? The two Saiyajins—they should be jumping me by now."

"They're dead," I blurt. "I killed them."

Her cackle rips through the air. "Oh my, little human, maybe I will keep you alive for the sheer entertainment. You, kill two Saiyajins? Who are you trying to fool?"

"They have weaknesses," I say, barely holding back tears. "One was women. The other was poison."

"Okay, okay, so let me get this straight," she says, still grinning. "You seduced the monkeys, killed them, built a machine to kill me, and then landed here and actually left your ship to find me? Do you think I'm stupid? Do you really think I'm _that_ stupid?"  
"You have to believe me!" I beg. "It's going to blow in fifteen minutes."

"Why would you want to save me? I thought you made it a point to kill me. Why build a kill switch and then try to save me from it? Your time's up," she snorts, and suddenly slaps me to the ground. "I'm tired of this game. Bye-bye, human!"  
"No!" I scream as she raises the ki blast over her head. Desperately I fumble in my pocket and toss my unfinished device out, clattering to the ground. The digital numbers are counting down in red. 14 minutes, 30 seconds. It beeps urgently as it hits the earth, and skips ahead five minutes. Nine minutes, 25 seconds.

"You can't be serious," she says derisively, but I see a little flicker of hesitation in her eyes.

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm going to die!" I cry.

"It's just a toy. It's nothing. Just a trick," she says, a look of anger and uncertainty on her face.

"No, Juuhachigou. I would not lie now," I whisper fearfully, cowering on the ground before her. "Please, let me go. I'll deactivate the switch if you let me go."

Her foot crunches down on my ankle, shattering the bone, grinding it to bits. I scream out in pain as she stomps on it again for good measure.

"Liar," she accuses once more, prim satisfaction plastered across her face. "I should've killed you before you spoke your first word. Answer me this: why did you come here?"

Amidst the real tears I am crying now, I continue my part. "I—I killed them…they forced me to come back here with them…that's when I decided to kill them—oh Gods, their bodies are still warm…"

I close my eyes, tears streaming through them, and feel no blow fall.

"All right," she says slowly. "Let's see if you're really stupid enough to still be lying."

I scramble up on my knees and grab the remote. Eight minutes, 40 seconds. As I whirl around to face her, my index finger presses a button on the back of it. Quick and inconspicuous. Narrow, suspicious eyes watch my every move. Bardock, please protect me now. Don't let me die yet.

"So why did you leave your ship, human?" she sneers. "And why did you bring _that_ out with you, if you say you have no intention of killing me?"

"It's the killing…it's all a game to you. But death isn't a game to me. I—I shouldn't have killed them. You don't know what kind of madness possessed me after—after I did it," I stutter, my shaking hand prying open the remote. The scan has been done, and I stare at the vital details filling the small screen, my hands removing some useless pieces I put in on purpose just so I could buy myself more time. I now know exactly what parts to change around in order for the remote to function. Hurry…hurry…please, Vegeta, don't wake up…please, Juuhachigou, don't kill me just yet…

Wham.

I sprawl on the ground, dazed, the side of my head stinging with the harsh blow. My hands are empty.

"Fool."

I double over as I am kicked in the stomach, coughing and gasping in pain. She pulls me up by the hair and slaps me in the face, the grease I had applied earlier smearing across my cheek.

"What-"

"Shut up," she snaps, and swings me around to look at my kill switch, lying in pieces several yards away. "Stupid girl. You thought I believed your crybaby shit?"

Before I can answer she throws me to the ground again, my head banging forcefully against the hard earth. I spit blood, and feel more pooling inside my mouth.

"All you scientist types must be the same. I'm beginning to think you're worse than Gero," she says scornfully. "He used to stare at me exactly the same way you were staring at your little toy, figuring out how to use me and then get rid of me. A bomb for a safety measure. Hah. You were just too obvious. Trying to fix your gadget so you could kill me with it."

Well, here it is. Game over. I tried.

Instantly my act drops.

"Yeah bitch, that's right," I shoot back, mustering all the malice I can spare into my voice. "I would have killed you."

"Oh, and just for that I'll make sure you die a very fun death," she says gleefully, clasping her hands together. "Juunanagou!"

I continue glaring at her with burning hatred, lying helpless, waiting for this slow death she promises me. I tried. I really had. The only pain I feel right now is for Vegeta. I have failed him.

"Juuhachi, you could've called me in earlier. It looked like you guys were having fun," an amused male voice calls from behind me.

"Remember what we agreed on about sharing," she pouts like a child. "You're lucky I even thought of letting you have this one."

They both laugh, merciless and diabolical, the artificial humans who will take my life. Juunanagou sets his eyes on me with interest. "You're a bad actress, human. But you've got spunk. I like that."

He kneels down beside me, fingers holding my chin up so he can look at my face.

The blood has pooled in my mouth long enough. I spit it all in his face.

"Ahhh! You insolent bitch!" he yells, swiping at his eyes with the front of his shirt. "You'll pay for that!"

"Make me pay, android," I jeer. "Make me."

Juuhachigou whistles and steps back. "You're asking for it."

"Well, since my sister here doesn't let me do this to her, I guess I'll try it on you," he grits, forcing an insidious grin that barely hides his anger.

My stomach curdles as his foul lips encounter mine, his hands holding me down; I writhe but am unable to break loose. His tongue forces itself into my mouth, roving, pushing against my tightly clenched teeth. All right, he wants to play? I'm game.

Abruptly releasing me, he screams and holds his jaw with one hand. His palm is bloodstained. I drag myself up on my elbows and laugh at him.

"Quite inexperienced with women, are we? Never try to rape a girl 'cause you'll get bitten," I dare to mock him.

"Juunana…just let me-" Juuhachigou sighs.

"Shut up!" he shouts with rage. "I'll handle this!"

WHAM!

Before I hit the ground I know my nose is broken and bleeding. He continues to kick me, out of control with childish fury, his feet connecting with my head, my chest, my stomach, my legs. As much as I try to hold it in, I cannot contain the screams that rip out of my throat. My vision is a blur as he yanks me up by one arm.

"Had enough yet?" he asks brightly, twisting my wrist cruelly in his hand until the bone splinters with an excruciating snap. "Sorry. We just got started."

My arm drops to my side, the wrist misshapen horribly, and I notice that I am crying. No, no more tears! I cannot show any more weakness! But each hit, each bone-breaking blow drains more and more out of me. My face slashed across the cheek, my arm broken, my eyes bruised so badly that I can hardly see, one leg useless, my clothes in tatters, my lungs heaving for air. The breath rattles in my throat, shallow and leaking. Will I die yet?

"Don't give out yet, I still got some ideas," he says, and I feel a faint jerk as he shoves my legs apart. Die now, Bulma, I scream at myself. Before he can-

His heavy body smothers me as it lies on top of me, his filthy hands on my breasts, his hardness rubbing against my opening. No…I can feel myself slipping, Juuhachigou's sigh of exasperation sounding distant and hazy. Juunanagou, please get off me, I'm feeling tired, I try to tell him. Why can't you leave me alone?

The weight is suddenly off me and I feel lightheaded. Thank you, Mr. Android Guy, I giggle.

Another faint voice in the quickly fading background.

"I'm going to kill you both. But you first, bastard."

My heart flutters weakly, and I struggle back into full consciousness. He has woken.

Vegeta:

The damn bitch had drugged me. I can't believe I didn't see it coming. Why did she do it? To give her life in noble sacrifice in an attempt to spare me from battle, thinking I'd actually forgive her for that? The sight of her broken, battered body violated so brutally fuels my aura greater, pushing me to the maximum in power…and still pushing higher, pushing the limits. I am going to kill these androids. Butcher them.

"You just had to butt in, didn't you? Just as the fun was starting," Juunanagou, soon to be my first victim, says wistfully. The red mark on his face, a vestige of the vicious blow I had dealt him, is beginning to fade. "You like the makeover I gave her?"

"You know it's really too bad I'll only get to beat you to death once. Because I would kill you ten times over just for laying hands on her."

"Oooo, I'm scared," he says, waving his hands in mock fear, his eyes widening. "Hah. You ran last time. What makes you think you won't run again?"

"This time, you'll do the running. Or at least you'll try to, before I gut you and make you eat your insides," I reply coolly, my mighty aura almost blinding, flashing white-gold. I am intoxicated with power.

"All right, sis, you wanna go finish off his woman while I show this guy who's gonna eat what?" he suggests to his twin.

"My pleasure," she sighs, her expression bored, and walks back towards Bulma.

Before I can move, Juuhachigou is bowled aside by a bright fireball. Kakarotto quickly rockets after her and punches her upward. That is all I can watch before Juunanagou charges me, and the final battle begins. No running. No cowardice. Only a path toward life or death.

I move quickly, my arms blocking the punches he aims at me, all precise and purposeful in technique. An android that was built to be perfect. I break from the defensive position and hit him hard across the jaw, sending him plowing headfirst into the ground. I will defeat this so-called perfection. Nothing can match me.

I let him rise and wipe the blood from his lip. He smiles crookedly and speaks. "Practice is over."

Suddenly I am flying backwards, spinning crazily in the air before I can right myself, and then just as swiftly I am struck in the other direction, hit back and forth like a toy ball. Juunanagou's fist blurs across my vision as he hits me again, laughing. I grit my teeth and explode with ki, sending energy everywhere at once, slowing my momentum down and regaining balance. That stuns him for a second. Then I am on him, enforcing my muscles with ki, my strikes compact and powerful.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

After three initial blows that connect with his face, he begins blocking and parrying with easy grace. I pick up speed and strike faster; he increases speed also, matching mine, meeting every hit and stopping me. Keep it steady, keep in control, I will succeed. This is methodical work, a task to destroy a machine. All machines can be worn down, this artificial soul with its metal alloy shell is nothing compared to the true warrior, natural in power and pure in life force.

One fist slips under his arm, meeting his stomach and quickly pulling out as he lurches forward with the blow. I lunge for him to get him in a headlock, but I am shoved off at once, and begin my solid barrage of attacks again. I feint a blow, and as he reaches up to block it, I swing my leg around, crushing his left arm against his side. His body twists with the impact, but just as I bring up my other leg to kick him upwards, his left fist hits me hard in the jaw, jarring me loose from my planned attack sequence. And suddenly the blows rain on me left and right, like a cloud of hammers striking everywhere on my body. No time to block or charge up. I try to whirl backwards but double over with a knee to the stomach. A smash to the ribs breaks several, and my eyes fill with blood from a gash on my forehead. Mad cackling rings in my ears, only inflaming my frustration through the mounting pain. My head snaps back from a punch that hit home, senses reeling to catch up with the instantaneity of my opponent's moves. Only a robot, I can defeat him…I can still win…

"Care if I join?" The female levitates down, arms crossed cockily, but I only concentrate on the android whom I have targeted first. He grabs me by the neck and tightens his grip, choking the air out of me, kicking at my stomach and chest, easily evading the mad blasts of ki my body shoots out.

"Juu—ha-chi-gou…go-away," Juunanagou orders, accentuating each syllable with a blow.

"Well sor—ry," she says, miffed. "His friend got a bit boring."

Kakarotto. Down already? I cannot believe the fool could give up this early! Juuhachigou unfolds her arms and flies around me, now both androids surrounding my body. Juunanagou from the front, aiming for my torso, shattering the bones there, while his twin punches me repeatedly in the back, so that I swing back and forth like an erratic pendulum, struggling with the vise around my throat so I can breathe. I cannot handle this two-front battle!

"Had enough yet, Saiyajin?" His voice mechanical, flat, but so maddening with its condescension. With a choked snarl I swing my fist at him, but to my shock he merely moves his head to the side to avoid it. He releases my neck in a millisecond and grabs my outstretched arm, punching the elbow with one fist, crippling my arm. Quickly I bite back a cry of agony, but in this moment of painful distraction, Juuhachigou slams me hundreds of feet down, rocketing to the ground headfirst.

BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!

A hundred yard ditch forms, the trail my body makes as it plows through rock and earth. Spitting dirt weakly out of my mouth, I try to get up. What…what is this? I cannot move my legs. I cannot feel them at all. My lower spine has been severed…

Juunanagou's voice carries down from up high, crowing with arrogant triumph. "Ready to give up? All right then!"

Dragging myself around on my back, I look doom in the face. The ki blast engulfs my vision with its white brilliance, an enormous star shooting down; I know it is quickly nearing to swallow me whole. I raise my ki as a last-resort defense, shocked again to find nearly all of it gone. What have these androids done to me to win so easily?

Nearer. I feel the heat, getting hotter and hotter like a burning furnace. Here comes a warrior's death.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Bulma:

Grimy, bloodied fingers continue to work mechanically, eyes not chancing to leave my task. I must finish. One hand drastically outpaced by the other, the mangled wrist only allowing me to do so much. Ignoring the wheezing sounds that pass for breathing. Ignoring the fatigue and numbness that hovers over my mind, a cloud ready to descend. Ignoring the intense pain that is beginning to dim only because I am close to fainting.

"Don't die, Bulma," he whispers, fallen and broken in a dozen places beside me, left there for dead by Juuhachigou. He still manages a smile. Good old Kakarotto.

"_You_ don't die," I reply, choking back tears. Another jolt to the heart as Vegeta is hit, faltering, weakening every second. My voice strained now. "Go to your Prince; your duty lies with him. Don't worry, I'm almost finished."

Wordlessly he rises, shrugging off the lances of pain inside him, returning to battle, rejoining the struggle we are rapidly losing. Keep fighting for me…please hang on…I will be finished…

Each piece snapping into place, my mind focusing through the violent clashes ringing in the air and inside me. A choke in my throat as Vegeta is struck again, and again, and more, quickly fading, dragging me down, leaving me to fight against the dropping tide. Through the pain, through the blood, through it all, I must survive. This must succeed.

Then I am blasted again from the inside, hard enough that I actually fall, gasping, to the ground, clutching my masterpiece feebly in my hands. He is close to being gone…close to losing everything. Lying now on my side, I resume making the last modifications to my instrument of victory. Hold out a little longer…

Doom spreads like an unstoppable virus in my chest. Simultaneously, ki accumulates in the sky, escalating, swelling, ultimately set to finish it all off. Laughter, taunting, coming from the heartless machines set to destroy to no end. Massing for their final attack. They will bring it down.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" A valiant cry, piercing through the thick, blood-reeking air. Wrenching my eyes away from my task, my head snapping up.

I watch in helpless horror as the next sequence of events begins in slow motion. Kakarotto, ki suddenly flaring beyond control, tearing up the rest of his battered body as he throws himself in the path of death. Instantly swallowed whole by the ghostly light, the hell-sent fireball plummeting from the sky. The silent explosion rocking the very air of this godforsaken planet and chilling all the blood in my body. For several seconds the world turns completely white, my eyes filled with empty blankness and my ears shot fully deaf by the immensity of the impact. Turbulent updrafts of wind whip my hair back, threatening to blow me away. I shield my face with my arms, flattening myself on the ground. Dirt and sand roll in layers over me, forming a blanket, suffocating me.

I do not know how long I lie there, stunned. Time suddenly does not seem so crucial to me anymore, although it is running out for me. Then, the instant I move, my slow-motion-world abruptly ends, the debris flowing off my body, my hand wiping my eyes so I can see, my body rising from the sand. I set my eyes on the lone figure lying on the ground, my heart jumping as he stands. The look of pure anguish and earthshattering loss engraved on his beautiful face, sending waves of overwhelming grief through me. His raw, unrestrained howl of agony spearing into my mind, and suddenly I am not deaf anymore.

Kakarotto died on him. Saved his life by giving up his own.

Almost subconsciously my fingers move the last bit of my creation into place. Legs moving forward, dragging, crawling, I do not know, but moving me towards him, towards reaching the goal Kakarotto died for. Muscle propelling faster, no longer feeling the shooting pain, as the androids drop down from the sky like vultures of death and begin tearing him apart. The only pain coming from the inside again, every blow he receives now magnified tenfold in my heart. Somewhere in the chaos I scream out. _Vegeta…_

The enemy stopping their assault, turning with newfound interest towards me. Two hated faces appearing before me at once, close enough to stop me in my tracks. Her mouth moves, forming words I do not listen to and cannot hear, her hand forming the energy that would destroy my life and his as well. But no, they will not succeed. For he will live on.

Vegeta, my Prince. I love you.

Click. It takes the last of my energy to push a button.

And as the enemy blows apart in my face, death flashes before my eyes, finally making the pounce after hunting me down for so long.

I have always wondered what happens to the soul when the body dies.

Now, I will find out.

Vegeta:

The world turns white before me even though I am far from where she is. Juuhachigou didn't have time to scream before she was gone, her twin going with her just as suddenly. Twin explosions, instantaneous, rocking the death-filled air, filling it with billowing clouds of smoke.

A split-second later, something horrible breaks inside me, as if a blazing torch has been shoved through my heart, and I scream, unable to stop, unable to breathe for the pain. Worse than all the beatings my body has received, more wrenching than death itself. Fingers clawing into the ground, drawing deep grazes through rock. Mind reeling with this violent flood of insanity, pounding everywhere inside me. Screaming through the blood running down my throat, through the sudden silence in the air. The _pain_! How can anything like it exist!

Finally it stops. My jaw trembles as a last whimper escapes my lips, a dribble of blood following it, and slowly my vision clears. My heart loses its beat as I see her. Motionless. Unbreathing. Thrown a hundred feet by the deaths of the enemy she alone defeated.

She is dead.

A startled, broken cry tears from my throat, and somehow I am beside her in a second. My arms already cradling her still form. Tears already falling, adorning her blood-washed skin with salt.

She is dead.

Victim of my pride. Her death means mine as well. I stare down at her. My eyes grasp her breathtaking beauty for the first time, seeing through the horrible wounds on her face. I can never look in her eyes again, for all I see now in her blank stare is a reflection of myself. A broken swan with no hope of flying again. Quivering, my lips cover hers in a kiss, futilely yearning for her to return it. She is dead. I will not leave her. I cannot tear myself away from her.

So here, the last of the Saiyajin race will make his grave. Next to hers. Forever.

**The End**

**You know its sad i had to finish like this **

**whatefer Tell me what you guys think**


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